Bourbon Heritage Month 2020 Day 4: The Ambassador Bourbon Winter 2019 Batch

ReviewsBourbon

Sep 4

The Ambassador Bourbon Winter 2019 Batch

Ambassador Bourbon is one of the older regular expressions to come from MGP in Indiana, and I’m a sucker for old stock MGP. I first tried this (well, a different batch) at the Whiskey Ward in NYC and fell in love.

53.75% ABV, 107.5 Proof. Mashbill: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley.

12+ Years Old, Distilled in 2006 and Bottled in 2019.

Bottled by Proof and Wood Ventures, distilled by MGP in Indiana.

Eye: Maple syrup, thin rim and thin legs.

Nose: Vanilla for days. So much caramel and vanilla that you almost miss the great oaky nose that rounds out the sniff. Woody, astringent oak. Rye herbal notes lurk in the background but are firmly on the outside.

Palate: Spicy up front, mild clove numbing. Corn-forward sweetness blends to a light caramel sauce like one dripping from a flan fresh from the oven. The vanilla bean keeps building on each sip, and the heat sticks around pleasantly. Mouthfeel is oily and medium-bodied.

Finish: Long - drying from the oak age, but flavors of a sweeter-leaning old fashioned linger (dark sugar, orange zest, bourbon).

Overall: Each batch of Ambassador is a little different, but each highlights the MGP-distilled and aged liquid. This batch is quite good, if not as good as the first I tasted (Winter 2018) which was liquid banana pudding. I would recommend tasting the batch before buying it, since there is so much variation, but this batch is a pick for sure.

Rating: 8.2

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)